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Category Archives: pre/post natal
10 Healthy Living Tips from the Girls Behind Cleaneatz
With an impressive Instagram following, Toronto’s Greta Epstein and Jamie Milne — the girls behind Cleaneatz — are quickly becoming the go-to source for healthy inspiration online.
Posted in healthy eating, healthy living, life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal, spynga stuff
Tagged cleaneatz, fitness, healthy meal
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The Most Unusual Piece of Advice I Got Before Becoming a Mom
Moms are heroes. Remember those pesky little things called pregnancy and labour? Remember how much reading and preparing we did for those things? Well, creating a human inside you then pushing it out through a tiny hole is just the beginning. It’s the beginning of something harder, something you can’t prepare for, something that requires on-the-job, minute by minute training. Oh, and also, it starts right after you create a human inside you and then push it out through a tiny hole. You’re freakin’ tired, your body aches, your abs are torn apart, you might have staples in places a stapler should NEVER be and it starts whether you’re ready or not. Looking back, this is the easy part. Soon they’re walking, then talking (probably talking back) and the next thing you know they want nothing to do with you, and they leave to go to a party where you’re worried they’ll get pregnant because you probably gave them self esteem issues. (Just a little glimpse in to my scary mommy brain…)
Posted in healthy living, life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal, toronto studio
Tagged Motherhood, yoga
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Why the Benefits of Returning to Fitness with Caution after Baby Are Lifelong
core restore post natal recovery
There are a few things new moms want to be mindful of when returning to a fitness routine after having a baby, particularly after consecutive pregnancies. 30-40% of mothers still experience symptoms of pelvic dysfunction one or more years after giving birth (i.e. diastasis recti AKA abdominal separation, pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, etc). This a significant chunk of the maternal population to be experiencing a sub-optimal recovery experience, the symptoms of which are not inconsequential.
I am one of these mothers. For me, my postnatal pelvic dysfunction was characterized by severe difficulty regenerating core strength, which as a woman who prides herself and relies upon my physical strength to live life effectively, has been devastating. I’ve also experienced stubborn knock-on effects from inadequate postnatal care that are very hard to undo. Don’t make the same mistakes I have!
Statistically I am not alone, but the sad thing is that many women suffer in silence because there is not much support or information that is readily available. Our capability, wellbeing, self-esteem and long-term health as mothers becomes compromised because we haven’t had the opportunity to recover as fully as we might have.
Posted in life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal
Tagged fitness, fitness tips, having a baby, post natal
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Confessions from a Broken Belly Mama
Casey with her middle son, Billy
Pregnancy took my belly for a big, bumpy, RIP roaring ride. It never occurred to me that as the baby (and your belly) grows, the chances of tearing your abdominal muscles grow as well. With each pregnancy (there were 3) my #DiastasisRecti (DR) expanded and 6 fingers deep to be precise! For those of you who haven’t heard of the DR, it is defined as a separation of your rectus abdominis, AKA your six-pack! When the abdominal muscles move aside, your uterus, bowels and other organs have only a thin band of connective tissue in front to hold them ALL in place. After baby, this condition causes your belly to stick out (yes, just like it did when I was about 5 months pregnant). I was so excited to feel good in my own body again, however, this unfortunate symptom has been quite hard at times on this mama’s soul. People (mostly women) constantly ask me if I am pregnant again. “So…you are going for the fourth?” and “When are you due?” are the most frequent questions that I get. Being a fitness instructor and wearing spandex for a living doesn’t allow me to wear “looser” attire!
Posted in life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal, toronto studio
Tagged having a baby, Motherhood, post natal
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7 ½ Weeks Post Baby – First Cycle Class – Getting Back on the Bike
Me pictured here with cycling Instructor, Joanna Perlmutter
At seven-weeks post baby, I woke up and no body part was screaming pain. Sleep deprived, yes, but I can cope with the fatigue much better if my body is not in any pain. After trying my first yoga class last week, I though I would brave the bike. I have to admit, I was scared to even sit on the saddle, afraid of reliving parts of childbirth and embarrassing myself with the thought of not even getting through the class!
I went to a dear friend and staff member’s class, Joanna, who is a mother of two as well. Comforted by knowing her style of teaching which is commanding, high energy as well as inclusive of all riders, I knew it would be a good class to find my legs again.
I sat next to loyal client who comes to Spynga 3 x a week and is there to work hard. She was my secret inspiration to keep pace with. Truthfully, I was just happy being in the excitement of a cycle class again. Those who are indoor riders seriously love the endorphin rush, music and challenge of it all, not to mention the continued results they see and feel in their body.
Posted in indoor cycling, pre/post natal
Tagged cycling, Motherhood, motivation, post natal
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Everything Hurt, But It Was Heaven
So here I am reemerging from the newborn baby bubble at 6 weeks post- pardum where, I think, you can finally semi catch your breath. Recovery from the wild ride of labour and delivery is hopefully becoming a distant nightmare or dream, depending on your experience and your body is healing, at least on the surface. Personally, I am knee deep in sleep deprivation mode where it is natural to feel like you have left your brain on most days and where 2-3 hours of snooze time feels like you drifted off for just a moment. Since my mind has been mostly occupied with feeding, poop, devising inventive ways to settle a fussy infant, and incorporating a toddler into this all – It was sadly foreign albeit natural, to turn my attention inwards.
I took my first breath with a vinyasa level 2 yoga class yesterday and besides reliving moments of childbirth again in certain poses, it was incredibly humbling on the mat for this veteran teacher and student of yoga. I have been stretching periodically since giving birth to Theodora. Mostly a few sun salutations to shake out the legs from sitting and nursing, forward folds with arms following over head to reverse my caved in chest from hovering over baby day in and day out, breathwork to get through the initial pain of breast feeding and meditating any chance I get….or is that sleeping?
What I Packed as I Wait for Baby!
So I made it. 40 weeks and no baby yet!
I was 5 days overdue with my first and beginning to think that my babies like to arrive fashionably late. What I did wake up with 2 days ago on my due date was a head cold and fever! An indication of labour or something I caught from my toddler? The latter is my guess. My daughter is a very affectionate 2 year old and is always holding hands or hugging the boogery kids when I go to pick her up from nursery school at the end of the day. Although, I have heard that when labour is eminent, symptoms are similar to that of the flu or a common cold.
So I am just resting and waiting for baby, trying everything I can to cure this cold. I need to have enough energy for the labour, delivery, and the first 2 nights with baby (yes, I did ring for a nurse to ask her what to do with my baby who wouldn’t stop crying all night as my husband, looked upon me, panic stricken as if we were in over our heads!) You need extra pre-labour/delivery sleep if you have the luxury of a little time to yourself.
Posted in healthy living, life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal
Tagged Delivery Room, fitness, having a baby, Motherhood, motivation
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A Spynga Mom’s Post Natal Odyssey
I want to start off by thanking you for following me + Spynga.
As some of you know, I am one of the co-founders of Spynga the Yoga + Cycling studio as well as a mom of one amazing girl with another on its way by weeks end! As a devotee to vinyasa yoga, indoor cycling, and strength training for over a decade, being committed to practice of these kinds helped me with post-baby #1 recovery but in all honesty, the confidence that becoming mother infused, I never felt stronger in my life. My time on the yoga mat is one that is always sacred to me whether I am simply breathing, sitting still or flowing. My practice always informs me of what is truly in my heart and gives me a greater understanding of who I am daily. Whether my intention is to restore, strengthen, ground, or explore, teachings of self-respect and self-love is what continuously shines through and enhances my connection to those I meet on my path, my higher self and all phenomena. The magic I feel as a student and teacher never dulls and is ever evolving. My affection for indoor cycling, originally inspired by my business partner and dear friend Casey, is the one activity that makes me feel physically and mentally powerful and clear. It is a rush like no other and I love conveying that through my classes. I learned over the years that stability serves as an essential component to a lifelong physical practice and discovered that strength training helps to prevent injuries and gives me the equilibrium to challenge myself. I truly believe in these physical, mental and spiritual modalities in conjunction with fueling your body and heart with love, good food and GREAT people!
Posted in cycling, pre/post natal
Tagged fitness, having a baby, Motherhood, post natal
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myStory of inspiration
My name is Danielle Adler and I am a CYCLE instructor at the SpyngaNorth studio in Thornhill, Ontario and SpyngaSouth studio in Toronto, Ontario. I have been a committed Spyngee since the first location in Toronto opened at Bathurst and St. Clair in 2007.
After I read the post below (thanks for the shout out Patrick!) I thought I’d share with all of you a bit about the journey that I have been on with Spynga for the past six years. Through postpartum depression and the insanity of having babies twenty months apart, to giant weight loss, to finding enormous reward as a stay-at-home mom, to discovering that you really can LOVE what you do for a living, and now the surgery that I will have in April to shed the skin and reshape the parts of my body that will never change, no matter how much I exercise – Spynga has been with me through it all. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Casey and Sari for opening not just a yoga and cycling studio, but a second home for me, my family, and so many women and men. A place where lives and bodies are literally transformed. My before and after pics are posted here so that you can all see that it really is possible. And it feels FANTASTIC!!
-Danielle Adler
confessions of a spynga mom
Becoming a mom for the first time…Wow! What a scary, exhilarating, exciting time! For Spynga instructor extraordinaire, Candice Stein, being pregnant for the first time felt like walking headlong into the unknown. Since the arrival of her beautiful baby boy, Jackson, she couldn’t be happier. “It totally rocks! It’s like having your best friend attached to you all the time!”
So far motherhood has taught her the value of putting someone else before her at all times, a lesson she began to learn taking care of her two dogs, that has hit home tenfold since Jackson was born. “Motherhood also teaches you to let go,” she explains. “I could be up with him in the middle of the night, feeling so upset, but the next morning it’s like that was years ago. You just move on so much more easily.”
As positive an experience as it’s been, Candice admits being a new mom can be lonely, too. That’s where Spynga comes in!
“I found out I was pregnant the day I finished my yoga teacher training,” she says. “I was able to continue teaching cycling classes throughout my pregnancy, and took advantage of Tiffany’s awesome prenatal yoga classes.”
Posted in pre/post natal
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